Looking at Elder Sister's beaming, flower-like smile, Jiang Ming could not help but heave a sigh of relief. He knew that he had probably, most likely, survived this ordeal.
This anomaly's current identity was his ‘Elder Sister'. She should not possibly kill him now. After all, if she killed her younger brother, could she still be considered an ‘Elder Sister'?
Logic dictated as much, but in this bizarre world of Rule-Based Anomalies, nothing was too strange to occur. It was entirely possible for this ‘Elder Sister' to deviate from the script.
However, he had already done everything within his power. If he still could not escape a tragic fate after all this, then he could only resign himself to destiny…
As if!
Jiang Ming never gave up!
If this anomaly remained hellbent on killing him, the worst-case scenario would be expending all his Sanity to cram the room full of vending machines. Then, he would throw the door wide open, lure the monsters inside, and go down swinging!
Jiang Ming felt his heroic spirit soar to the clouds, but ultimately, the most likely outcome would be a futile death where the fish died while the net remained perfectly intact.
After all, the anomaly before him was simply too powerful. Even the so-called guardian deity could only shiver in fear.
Elder Sister watched Jiang Ming's ever-shifting expressions. Losing her mood to tease him, she spoke straightforwardly: “Relax, I won't lay a hand on you.”
The moment those words left her mouth, Jiang Ming's taut nerves completely relaxed. He pulled his lips back into a forced smile. “Phew… Haha, I knew it. How could my sister ever harm me?”
Elder Sister stood up and stretched lazily, revealing her graceful curves.
This inadvertently exuded charm made Jiang Ming freeze, staring blankly.
Yet he quickly recovered his wits. He shifted his gaze to the side without batting an eyelid, pretending as if nothing had happened.
Elder Sister seemed utterly unconcerned by this. As she stepped forward, the blood-red umbrella glided along with her. This scene momentarily stunned Jiang Ming, prompting him to ask: “Sis, where are you going?”
Elder Sister chuckled softly, leaning close to Jiang Ming. “My good brother, I am leaving, of course.”
“Don't go! Stay a few more days.” The words slipped out of Jiang Ming's mouth instantly. He had finally managed to pacify this ‘Elder Sister' and forge a connection. If she left now, wouldn't he suffer a massive loss?
Putting everything else aside, if this sister left, the dog would instantly go berserk, steal his identity, and turn him into a dog!
Elder Sister smiled sweetly, leaning even closer. “You were scared half to death just a moment ago. How come you can't bear to part with me now?”
Looking at the stunningly beautiful face so close at hand, Jiang Ming put on a solemn expression. “Sis, what nonsense are you sprouting? When was I ever afraid?”
“You are my Elder Sister! Even if I were afraid of Da Huang, I could never be afraid of you.”
Jiang Ming spoke with utmost sincerity, acting as though they truly shared a profoundly deep sibling bond.
Then, Jiang Ming began to unveil his ultimate objective: “Sis, we hit it off so late. Just stay.”
“For the next three days, I will definitely host you well.”
“Haha.” Elder Sister laughed, then waved her hand dismissively. “Do you think I don't know what is running through your head?”
“If I stay, ‘Mother' will be displeased.”
“I cannot make ‘Mother' unhappy, nor can I violate the rules.”
The amount of information contained in those few sentences was staggering. She also knew about ‘Mother'? Was she acquainted with ‘Mother'? Was this something she knew from the start? So, was she originally that ‘Mother's' friend? Or perhaps, this was knowledge she only acquired after assuming the Elder Sister identity. Find the original chapter at novelping dot com.
The difference between the two possibilities was astronomical.
Furthermore, he had to abide by the rules. The dog had to abide by the rules. Even an entity as terrifyingly powerful as her had to abide by the rules.
Did that imply that every person or entity within the world of Rule-Based Anomalies was bound by the rules, possibly even including ‘Mother'?
Jiang Ming harboured far too many doubts in his heart. But before he could voice them out, Elder Sister seemed to read his mind and preemptively cut him off:
“As long as you can survive, everything will naturally become clear to you. Only those who survive have the right to know.”
“If you die, then there is even less need for you to know.”
Jiang Ming fell silent. Survive, and he would know everything?
Elder Sister walked past Jiang Ming. Just as she was about to leave, she abruptly turned around and smiled. “Here, a gift for you.”
“What is it?” Jiang Ming asked in confusion.
Elder Sister gently clenched her fist. It was pale and delicate, with faint blue veins surfacing on the skin.
In the next fraction of a second, the sound of tearing air rang out. The fist rapidly magnified in Jiang Ming's vision as her pleasant voice echoed in his ears: “My gift to you is this.”
Jiang Ming's vision went black, and he collapsed into a deep slumber.
………
Within the chaotic and dilapidated living room, scorch marks littered the area. Leftovers sat untouched on the dining table, which looked as though it had been polished from white bones.
Collapsed on the floor next to the table was a man. His head was wrapped in bandages, and a fist-sized bruise darkened his forehead.
“Ouch, that really hurts.” Jiang Ming scrambled up from the floor, massaging his forehead. He could not fathom why Elder Sister had punched him at the very last moment.
He hadn't done anything to provoke her, had he? By taking that hit, he had broken the rules yet again!
He just did not know what price he would have to pay this time.
Amidst his pondering, Jiang Ming opened his status panel. His Sanity currently stood at 77.
“It is actually three points higher than before?”
He clearly remembered that before he fell out with Elder Sister, his Sanity had only been 74. Afterward, he directly summoned five vending machines, consuming a full ten points of Sanity. Even though sleeping could restore five points of Sanity, it should be far from enough to reach 74 again.
Yet right now, his Sanity sat pretty at 77.
“So, this has something to do with her?”
Just as Jiang Ming was mulling over this, a sudden wave of weakness washed over him. A huge chunk of his physical strength had vanished into thin air!
An intensely agonising pang of hunger assaulted him, making it feel as if he had not eaten for an entire day.
“What time is it now?” He swiftly whipped his head around to look at the wall clock. The hands were pointing dead centre at the four.
“So, is it 4:00 PM or 4:00 AM?”
This question was exceedingly critical. If it was 4:00 PM, it meant he was still in the fourth day and had only slept for about six hours.
But if it was 4:00 AM, it meant he had slept for eighteen hours! What's more, he would have spent the entire night in the living room!
If anyone else encountered such a scenario, they might panic completely. Ignorant of how long they had slept, they would completely lose their grasp on whether it was currently morning or afternoon.
This was truly terrifying because there were many things in the rules that could not be done at night, such as moving around the living room.
Misjudging the time would trigger a cascade of dire consequences. One might even mess up their sleep schedule, blindly violate the rules, and die without ever knowing why!
For instance, if another person woke up right now and saw the four, they would subconsciously assume it was 4:00 PM. But what if the true time was 4:00 AM?
In that case, every single time-related action they took afterward would be completely derailed.
In the realm of Rule-Based Anomalies, one had to fear the worst-case scenario!
Judging by his ravenous hunger, he should have been asleep for a full eighteen hours!
However, that was not the case; Jiang Ming had merely slept for six hours.
Why was he so certain?
Because he possessed an incredibly potent ability: Vending Machine! It refreshed its gacha draw count every day at midnight, and the unused draws could be hoarded!
Thus, Jiang Ming only needed a single glance at whether his vending machine draw count had refreshed to flawlessly deduce whether it was morning or afternoon!
Looking at the unrefreshed draw count in his mind, Jiang Ming set his heart at ease. It seemed things were not that exaggerated; he had only been asleep for six hours.
But what was the deal with this vanished strength and exaggerated hunger?
“Something is amiss.” Soon after, new suspicions cropped up in Jiang Ming's mind.
He had been lying out here for half the day, yet absolutely nothing had happened. After all, this was the living room, not the bedroom!
Furthermore, with such a golden opportunity presented on a silver platter, Da Huang actually failed to make a move to replace him and turn human?
Jiang Ming racked his brains but could find no answers. Could it be that the dog was also sleeping?
But wasn't its bedtime at 5:00 PM? Or was this also Elder Sister's doing?
Jiang Ming sensed that something fishy was going on. He surveyed his surroundings; the dog was nowhere to be seen.
Patting his grumbling stomach, Jiang Ming decided it was best to fill his belly first.
He summoned his kitchen cleaver to handle any sudden emergencies. Just as he prepared to walk toward the refrigerator, a slightly perplexed voice echoed nearby:
“Who are you?”
“Why are you holding a kitchen cleaver in my house?”